Mattis attempted to downplay the matter, saying reporters shouldn’t “read too much into” reports of diplomacy in Korea, and insisting that the exercises are only on hold because of logistical concerns.

With the US position on North Korea talks with South Korea a bit tentative, Mattis clearly wouldn’t want to confirm if South Korea had halted military exercises for the sake of diplomacy.

At the same time, the US has been holding almost non-stop drills all year in Korea, so it’s hard to imagine why there would suddenly be a logistics issue related to the Paralympics which would be putting things on hold.

5 thoughts on “Mattis: Korea Exercises on Hold Until After March Paralympics”

This is a weird take on things. First, Trump rejoices in the idea that talks between NK and SK are taking place, attributing that to his own toughness. We should rejoice also in the fact that the talks will begin – no matter the motivation. Where is the reference justifying the fact that they are “a bit tentative” in Ditz’s phrase?
Same with the postoponement of military exercises. Why not simply report that they are postponed and hail that as a step forward (which it is) instead of raining on that parade before it has taken its first step.

Really? I could have sworn Trump told Tillerson he was wasting his time with diplomacy with the “rocket man” especially when Tillerson said there would be no preconditions. And what did Mattis mean by his comment that reporters “read too much into” reports of diplomacy in Korea? If Trump is rejoicing over diplomacy he should get his people on the same page.

This comment is incredibly naive. There is a battle between those who want diplomacy and those (the exiled Bannonites among them) who want to see sharper confict in East Asia. Expect contradictions my friend and try to learn to live with them.
The story about this was buried in the NYT and ran a day late there – incredible for such an important piece of news. But then again among the NYT and our intellectuals to whom it issues thinking orders nothing good is to be said of Trump.
See:https://www.rt.com/news/415037-north-korea-accepts-talks-south/

The Trump administration has been consistently against diplomacy with the North before and after Bannon. Trump’s rhetoric hasn’t changed one iota since Bannon left.

The articles you site tell us the following:
1) Washington urged caution before “opportunistically taking credit for the possible rapprochement”
2)The state department said the talks would be limited to the Olympics and other domestic issues. They also warned about how this could be a ploy by Kim to drive a wedge between us and the South.
3) Trump’s rejoicing consisted of him bragging about how it was him, and only him, that made these talks possible.

None of this changes our demand that the North agrees to denuclearize before WE will agree to diplomacy. These talks are meaningless and only are taking place because we’d look foolish otherwise.